Richard Wagner, oil on linen, 48X42 inches, 2018, private collection, UK
Richard Wagner: A Profound Cataclysm
Richard Wagner wanted to do for the human voice what Beethoven had done for instrumental music: to create a profound cataclysm.
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I believe he succeeded.
If we bracket out certain aspects of his personality and a few shameful moments, we find a unique music, one in which each sonic palpitation carries the affective aura of the composer.
I want my paintings to produce the same affect; that each layer be marked by the rebellious élan of the heart.
My gallerist in Toronto, Sylvain Landry, came up with the idea that I paint all the composers of an opera company season. The portraits could then be used as posters to announce the operas. I admit to have found this project highly exciting.
Being the music lover that I am, imagine the kick I would get! So, I painted Wagner as a demonstration.
Top Photos : Guy L’Heureux | Bottom Photos : Thompson Landry Gallery
Recently, I also stumbled on a sweater.
It has “Gesamtkunstwerk” written on it, which means “total work of art” in German. It’s a concept developed by German Romanticism used to describe works that combine all the arts: dance, theater, music, visual arts.
Sweater : OAMC
Richard Wagner wanted his operas to be Gesamtkunstwerke so the audience is enthralled by all possible channels of the imagination. So, when I saw this sweater, I had such a crush that I could not resist buying it.
I want my life to be a total work of art!
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